Oslo, Norway to install wireless electric chargers for taxi fleet

Dive Brief: Oslo, Norway is poised to become the first city in the world to use wireless fast-charging infrastructure for its taxi fleet, in part of an effort to deploy only electric taxis by the year 2023. Charging plates, which use induction technology to deliver a charge of up to 75 kilowatts, will be installed under taxi parking spaces. The installation is being done in partnership with Finnish clean energy company Fortum and America’s Momentum Dynamics. The chargers will be at taxi stands, including at Oslo Central Station, where cars would normally be idling for passengers. "The difference is they won’t be emitting exhaust while waiting, instead they will be receiving renewable energy to charge the taxi’s battery," Fortum Charge & Drive head Annika Hoffner said in a statement. Dive Insight: Electric taxis are seen as key to a widespread zero-emission transportation future, but charging has remained a major barrier. Because cab drivers have unpredictable schedules, it can be difficult to keep a consistent charge. Depending on where the chargers are located, drivers may also have to go out of their way and wait, meaning lost fares. That has plagued Washington, DC’s attempts to deploy more electric taxis, prompting […]

Grant Brown is a passionate environmentalist, driven by a need to “leave it better than he found it”. This drive, combined with a capacity to understand power solutions of all types, helps him in his day job as VP Marketing at a start up clean technology company. His goal personally as well as professionally, is to help and inspire others to become a part of the green shift and to leave a positive legacy in the world.